High-tech innovation has come to a Saucon Valley street corner near you.
Months after it was first installed and drew curiosity from passers-by, the Borough of Hellertown’s computerized, pedestrian-friendly information kiosk is finally online, although additional features have yet to be added.
The Borough of Hellertown’s new wireless information kiosk was installed outside Borough Hall in the spring. It became live in October, although more features are yet to be added.
Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft said the grant-funded kiosk’s touchscreen photobooth was functional–with a few minor glitches–as of late October.
To take a selfie using the photobooth, one simply needs to touch the camera button on the home screen and then press “Take a Picture.”
From that point, the photo subject has several seconds to position himself in front of the screen before a photo is taken. The subject can then review their photo and email it to herself or discard it and take another one.
The background for the photo is the intersection of Main and Walnut streets, and “Hellertown, Pennsylvania” or “Borough of Hellertown Welcomes You” appears across the bottom portion of the image.
An example of a selfie taken by the new Hellertown borough kiosk. Pictured from left are borough employees Tanya Stametz, Tina Krasnansky and Angie Bauer.
The kiosk also provides information about current and upcoming events, such as the borough’s annual fall leaf collection, which began Monday.
Hartranft said the borough hopes to utilize the kiosk to help advertise local restaurant and business coupons and specials in the near future.
The kiosk is green and is located on the south side of Hellertown Borough Hall inside a small plaza area.
For more Hellertown information, visit the borough’s website, where you can subscribe to an email notification list that is used to announce things like the declaration of snow emergencies. The borough also regularly shares information via its Facebook page.